Darkness Is My Ally: Season 1
by Revenant-Commander
Summary: Harry Potter, now a Hit-Wizard for the Ministry of Magic, takes on the task of hunting Death Eaters in America, where supernatural convergences make normal tracking methods impossible. He also takes on the task of being the champion for the Slayer on the Watcher's Council, and becomes increasingly hostile towards all but three of his allies on the Council and in Sunnydale.


_**Disclaimer: I don't own HP or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Rowling owns HP, and as far as I'm concerned Whedon is the only person who could be considered the 'owner' of Buffy, even if he, like other beginning screenwriters, got screwed over. **_

_**A/N: I hope everyone enjoys this one. Please note I do use some clichés as far as the Harry Potter world goes, so apologies ahead of time for those. **_

Darkness Is My Ally:

Season 1

By

Revenant-Commander

Chapter 1:

The Watchers and the Wizard

"The Minister will see you now," the secretary, who had probably graduated during Harry's first or second year at Hogwarts, said to the dark-robed young man who was standing and gazing at a picture that dominated the forefront of Level 1 at the Ministry of Magic. Harry Potter, the defeater of Voldemort and the most recent graduate of the Hit-Wizards. He had primarily needed to learn new spells, thanks to the nearly year-long exile he had endured alongside Ron and Hermione. When they hadn't been speculating on where the Horcruxes were, they had been practicing their precision and dueling with one another (the Horcrux locket had made a damn good target since it was practically indestructible).

"Thank you, Ms. Jones," Harry said, and entered the Minister's office without another word. Kingsley Shacklebolt, still acting as the Interim Minister, smiled at Harry from behind his desk. "Kingsley, good to see you," Harry said, allowing a bit of his more warm nature to come out. Kingsley and he had had a mutual respect for one another since before Harry's fifth year. Kingsley had been impressed by Harry's desire to learn how to fight and slipped Auror manuals to him surreptitiously through Tonks and Sirius. The Auror manuals weren't so much about spellwork, but more about the methods and procedures of the Auror Force. Prior to this past year, Harry had wanted to become an Auror, but after the events of the year in which Voldemort had ruled Britain through his puppet Minister, Pius Thicknesse, he had realized that the Aurors were little more than a mixture of Scotland Yard and the American FBI.

"Harry," Kingsley said, "it's good to see you as well. I must say, I was a tad disappointed that you wouldn't be joining the Aurors, but I can understand your reasons why. I understand from your instructors that you've taken like a fish to water in Hit-Wizard training." Hit-Wizards were the elite of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It was their job to take down terrorists like the Death Eaters and Voldemort whenever possible, often being dispatched lone wolf style but occasionally in teams of three or four. After the First War, the Hit-Wizard ranks had been decimated, with Sirius Black considered a traitor and Alice Longbottom tortured into insanity alongside her Auror husband, and countless others dead, including the Prewett brothers.

By the time rebuilding the DMLE had become an obvious need Cornelius Fudge had been elected and was influenced more by gold than by efficiency. The first act Kingsley had done as Minister (once the dead had been accounted for, that is) was issue an edict that all those who had taken part in the Battle of Hogwarts and were of age could forego the NEWT requirements and join either the Auror Force or the Hit-Wizard Corps.

"It's been a bit easier than I expected," Harry replied. He had noticed his magic seemed to react quicker after killing Voldemort, and he had deduced it was because the Horcrux was no longer sapping at his strength. "But I guess I did have the advantage as far as fitness and spellcasting accuracy goes. The only others who had that were the rest of Dumbledore's Army. Neville's kept up as well." Neville Longbottom had decided to honor his mother's memory (having already honored his father's by becoming the leader of the D.A. in Harry's absence) and joined the Hit-Wizards.

"Yes, you both are doing your legacies proud, and more importantly, you're doing _yourselves_ proud," Kingsley said. "Neville has been assigned a similar task to yours here in Britain. For you, though, I felt you would want this assignment." He picked up a thick folder and slid it across the desk. As Harry opened it and perused, Kingsley continued, "After the Battle of Hogwarts, the Death Eaters were en route to Azkaban only for those guarding them to be overwhelmed by Dementors. In the chaos, the Death Eaters and their sympathizers escaped. While a good deal stayed here in Britain, many more escaped over to America."

"I'm not sure if I fully understand the issue," Harry said. "Why not just ask the equivalent of the American Ministry to search for them?"

"We have," Kingsley said gravely. "But you must understand something, Harry. Britain is, for the most part, quite old school, as is much of Europe. America is a hotbed of magical activity. The Salem Witch Trials were not organized to hunt down our kind, but the Wiccan style of witches. There are also convergences of magical energies across the country, and they disrupt the means we would use. The American Department of Magic has located the general area they believe the Death Eaters and their sympathizers will be heading to at some point. We're dispatching you there. A property has been purchased, and the Requisitions office will supply you with operational equipment."

"Where am I going?" Harry asked.

"Sunnydale, California," Kingsley said. "It sits right on the most virulent active pocket of magical energy. Our research, with the help of the Department of Magic, has identified it as an active Hellmouth. Due to this, before you go there, we are sending you to speak to the Council of Watchers here in England. They are an ancient organization, dedicated to fighting the darkness of this world; they are also made up primarily of Squibs, and thus they dislike the Pureblood agenda. Fudge's records showed he rarely kept them updated. They likely know something's been happening here, but nothing much beyond that." Kingsley hesitated for a moment, because he knew the next bit was not something that would go down well with Harry.

Harry noticed Kingsley's hesitation and narrowed his eyes. "What is it, Kingsley?" he demanded to know.

Kingsley sighed. "The Watchers Council primarily deals with keeping the threat of demonic forces at bay, and for centuries has acted as guides for a chosen champion, the Slayer." Ignoring Harry's darkening expression, Kingsley quoted the line that he had found regarding the Slayer. "One girl in all the world, a Chosen One, to stand against the darkness and stop the spread of demonic forces."

"How old are they when they are chosen?" Harry asked quietly.

"Between 15 and 17," Kingsley replied quietly. "Your family has a position on the Council, Harry. I was hoping you would take that position, be a voice for someone who must suffer in the same position as you yourself have."

"You can count on it," Harry said.

"Good," Kingsley replied, a clear tone of relief evident in his voice. "They have been informed that a representative will be joining the Council, and that you are an active field agent heading for Sunnydale. I suspect they'll be relieved about that. From my understanding, there are. . . . . concerns about their Slayer."

_**Council HQ**_

Harry, dressed in a Muggle suit, entered the main atrium of the headquarters for the Council of Watchers, looking around with mild interest. Approaching the desk, he found himself confronted with a middle-aged woman who seemed to have the appropriate level of sycophantism that would have made Dolores Umbridge proud. "May I help you, young man?" the woman said sweetly.

"Yes," Harry said, smiling tightly at the woman. "My name is Harry Potter. I'm here for a meeting of the Council."

The woman looked disbelieving, but checked her records. She nodded. "Yes, we have you in the books. Though we were expecting someone. . . . older. It says you're an active field agent."

"I am," Harry said coolly. "It is not my fault they have not done their job and made sure they knew everything." The woman scowled at him, but it washed over him. She gestured down a corridor, and he nodded sharply. He walked away, hearing the woman muttering something uncomplimentary behind him.

Entering the Council's meeting room, he saw several older men with a handful of younger ones present. "Mr. Potter, isn't it?" asked the man sitting at the head of the table.

"Yes," Harry replied. "Mr. Travers, I take it?"

"Indeed," the man said. "Please, take a seat."

Harry nodded, and moved towards the seat he had been gestured to. Before sitting, however, he cast a detection charm and found a mild hex on it. "Very clever," he said, dispelling the hex with a wave of his wand taking the seat. "It would have been a good one for the inexperienced. But I've spent a year on the run from the Dark Lord Voldemort and his servants. Spotting cursed objects is old-hat now."

"Good, good," one of the other men said approvingly. "You're not the usual wizard, are you?"

"Most wizards tend to lack common sense," Harry replied. "I like to think that I've still got some." That got some chuckles. "Now, I understand there are some _concerns_ regarding the Slayer?"

"Yes," Quentin Travers said in reply as the Council sobered, getting down to business. "For the first two years, we've received a decent amount of reports from her Watchers. Her first Watcher, Merrick, was killed in action in Los Angeles. Her second Watcher, Rupert Giles, has been evasive in his reports since the most recent year began. We are beginning to feel the situation may have been compromised. We would like to send one of our more promising young Watchers with you, to learn the ropes of being in the field. He's good with books and would be a valuable asset."

"I'd have to meet him, but as long as he's willing to realize that not everything can be learned from controlled environments and sometimes, you have to get your hands dirty, I don't mind," Harry replied softly. He could tell most of these people were used to such environments and left the field work to those they considered beneath them, or perhaps to black ops. style teams.

"It is an unusual viewpoint, but if what Rupert Giles has reported thus far is true, the Hellmouth is the one place in this world where Watchers must become better-suited to the field," Travers replied. "The man who will be accompanying you is Wesley Wyndham-Price. He is quite capable with the theory and research portions of the duty of the Watcher. With your help, he could become quite proficient."

Harry nodded, but it was simply to keep Quentin from realizing that Harry knew the man was lying his ass off. Wesley was being sent with him to try and take control of operations on the Hellmouth. Deep within Harry, the Marauder spirit cackled with glee. Finally, it would be free. . . .

_**A/N: Hope everyone enjoys this. **_


End file.
